SAN MARCOS 
It may take a second to change a person’s life, but for Jean, it only took the ring of a cellphone. That’s the premise behind Sarah Ruhl’s comedy “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” at Palomar College.

Jean is sitting in a coffee shop when a man’s cellphone starts ringing. And ringing. When he won’t answer it, she does — only to discover that he’s dead. For some odd reason that she really can’t explain, she holds onto the phone and gets involved in the life of the guy’s mother, widow and mistress.

“The title of the play describes the situation in the play. She ends up pretending that she knew the man, then starts making all kinds of stuff up about him. In that, she learns the positive and negative power of a good lie.”

Larmer chose the show for two reasons. First, he liked the dark humor. Second, Ruhl — who also wrote “In the Next Room (or the vibrator play)” — is a hot new playwright. He thought that a newer, edgier work would appeal to students. He was right.

“We had an excellent turnout to auditions,” he said. “We had good numbers and good quality. I had to choose among many talented students. This is why we try to do a mix of types of plays.”

Ruhl wrote “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” in 2007, but technology has already changed in that time, something Larmer had to be aware of when directing the students.

“It may only be a few years ago, but we didn’t have smartphones then like we do now,” he said. “At the time she wrote this play, cellphones were newer to us, so we had to face that issue. We’re not playing it as if cellphones are something unique. The cast is having a fun time with it.”

He also had to work with the students on getting the right tone for a dark comedy, giving both the morbid situation and the laughs just the right blend.

“The dialogue in this show is terrific,” he said. “It’s witty. It’s the situation the character is put in that is darkly amusing. It’s a challenge to get that across to the audience. The cast isn’t sure when they’ll get the laughs. There’s a certain style to it — a style of absurdism.”

In the course of the play, Jean’s life changes in unexpected ways, some of them very good. It’s that twist of events that Larmer thinks the audience will find appealing, not unlike in a TV sitcom.

“I like the situation the character is put into,” he said. “It’s sweet that a simple love story comes out of it. The lady finally finds happiness, love and substance in her life. That’s what makes it so fun to watch.”